LO: To identify types of biome - Wednesday 20th May 2020

Wednesday 20th May 2020

LO: To identify types of biome

Hello again! I’m Alexander the Great,
 one of the strongest, bravest and
   most powerful leaders in Greek
               history!

 Today’s lesson is all about Biomes!

My teacher says that to become a great leader, you
          must know your own country.

He has set me the task of describing the biomes in my
               home country, Greece.

                 Can you help me?

Today we are going to learn
 about physical geography.

Can you remember what this
          means?

What are physical features?
              Volcanoes

                                                            • A physical feature is

                                    Waterfalls and Cliffs
                                                              something that is
Rivers
                                                              natural on the earth.

Mountains                                                   • These things are part
                          Beaches                             of the earth and were
              Forests
                                                              not made by humans.

So what is a biome?
                • Biomes are areas of our planet with specific
                  climates, landscapes, animals and plants.
                • The types of plants and animals that live in a
                  biome depends on:
                      • How warm or cold it is
                      • How dry or wet it is
                      • How fertile the soil is – this means how good the soil
                        is for growing plants

                Lets look at some examples...

Rainforests
• Tropical rainforests are warm and wet all year
  round.
• As the name suggests, rainforests have up to
  400 inches of rain in one year.
• They are home to OVER HALF of all the
  plants and animals in the world!
• Tropical rainforests contain thousands of
  species of plants, animals, insects and birds.
• They have five layers of vegetation; the forest
  floor, the shrub layer, the under storey, the
  canopy and the emergent layer.

Deserts
• Deserts are hot and dry all year round.
• The desert biome covers about one-fifth of
  Earth’s surface.
• Deserts only get around 20 inches of rain a
  year making it an extremely dry climate.
• It is a difficult biome to live in so plants and
  animals have to be well-adapted to live there.
• The only things that grow are cacti and small
  shrubs because the soil is shallow and rocky.
• Animals come out at dusk when it is cooler.

Savannah

• The savannah is also hot all year round
  with a long, dry season.
• Only grasses and shrubs grow here but it is
  home to lots of different types of animals
  such as elephants, zebras and wildebeest..

Woodlands

• The climate of woodlands is warm and
  mild.
• More rain falls in the winter than the
  summer.
• The main plants found in woodlands are           Mosses

  mosses, trees, ferns and lichen.         Ferns
                                                            Lichen

Grasslands

• While temperatures are often extreme in
  some grasslands, the average temperatures
  are about -20°C to 30°C.
• Tropical grasslands have dry and wet
  seasons that remain warm all the time.
• Temperate grasslands have cold winters
  and warm summers with some rain.
• As the name suggests, grasslands are large,
  open areas where grass is the main plant.

Tundra

• Tundra is the coldest of biomes. There is
  very little rain or snow and the ground is
  permanently frozen (permafrost).
• Winters are long and summers are short.
• Water on the surface cannot drain away
  so the ground can be marshy.
• The plants that grow there don’t grow
  much higher than 30cm.

Chaparral
• Chaparral biomes are shaped by
  Mediterranean climates. This means they
  have short, wet winters and long, dry
  summers.
• The plants here have to be well adapted to
  cope with the wet winters, dry summers, rain
  storms and strong winds. An example of this
  would be the olive tree, which has a study
  trunk to cope with winds and leaves with a
  protective coating to stop sun scorching.
• Animals in the chaparral biome are mostly
  nocturnal, like the jackal, choosing to come
  out at night when it is cooler.

Taiga
• These are also known as coniferous or
  boreal forests.
• Taiga falls between tundra and temperate
  forests/woodlands so it has a mixture of
  these two climates.
• They are made of coniferous trees, which
  are trees with needle-shaped leaves, that
  do not drop their leaves in winter.
• These trees survive even though the
  ground is frozen for more than six
  months in the year.
• Animals like caribou, deer, bears and birds
  of prey live in Taiga.

Biomes in Greece
Greece is mostly made up of the Woodland and Chaparral biomes.
Your Task:
Create a leaflet about the biomes in Greece using the information in this
PowerPoint as well as your own research. Here are some ideas of what you
should include:
   -What is the climate like in this biome?
   -What does it look like?
   -What animals live here?
   -What plants live here?
   -Where else can this biome be found?
   -Are there any threats to this biome?

Examples: Make it bright and colourful!

Useful Websites

https://thewildclassroom.com/biomes/chaparral/

https://www.bioexpedition.com/chaparral-biome/

https://www.softschools.com/facts/biomes/chaparral_biome_facts/16
9/